Monster of the Week
by TheBigPotatoBoss
Summary: An alternative universe in which the Shitennou are smarter. All nine Sailor Senshi have awakened. In addition, Mamoru has access to his powers as Endymion. Everything happens during the 2010s for technological convenience.
1. Get on Screen

Monster of the Week

Synopsis: An alternative universe in which the Shitennou are smarter. All nine Sailor Senshi have awakened. In addition, Mamoru has access to his powers as Endymion.

Everything happens during the 2010s for technological convenience.

* * *

MotW: Get on Screen

* * *

Minako Aino was happy. Scratch that, she was absolutely ecstatic. As she was skipping towards the sidewalk, she was practically radiating joy. Her cat, Artemis, couldn't help but smile at the Senshi.

On the sidewalk, she looked around her to make sure nobody was near. Confirming that she was alone, she flipped the cover of the emergency communication device on her wrist. Turning it on, she waited for everyone else to pick theirs up.

Luna was the first to show up on the screen. "What's wrong?" she asked.

The black cat was followed by the other Inner Senshi.

"Where are you?" questioned Ami.

"How many of them are there?" inquired Makoto.

"What are their abilities?" Rei followed.

"Wh-"

"Guys, there's nothing wrong!" Minako shouted. The other Senshi quieted down.

"Then what are you calling us for?" Usagi asked. Her eyes widened. "Are you hurt?"

"No, nothing like that!"

"Then what?" Rei demanded to know.

"Oh, nothing," Minako replied. "It's just that I got the lead role of a summer romance movie!"

To Aino's surprise, only Usagi congratulated her. Everyone else remained silent.

"Come on, aren't you happy for me?" Minako wanted to know.

"We are," Ami nervously answered. "But-"

"Minako, this communicator is for emergencies _only_ ," Rei lectured. "If you're not going to take at least this part of your responsibility seriously-"

"But this is an emergency!" the straight-haired blonde argued. "Not just anyone can get into a movie directed by Ayumu Nakano! Don't you agree, Makoto?"

"Well…." Kino didn't know how to answer. On one hand, Nakano's movies were extremely popular. Being in his upcoming movie was a guaranteed boost to Minako's road to fame. On the other hand, not taking their Senshi responsibilities seriously was the main reason for losing against the Shitennou early on.

"Let's not argue about this right now," Ami tried to calm them down. "While it's a good thing that Minako got the role that she wanted, it would've been better just to call us or tell us at the meeting."

"Right," Makoto agreed. "Speaking of which, we should have a small party to celebrate this occasion. I can cook something up for tonight."

"So, are you ladies done arguing yet?" Haruka asked with amusement in her voice. Around her were Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru. They had been listening to the conversation the whole time.

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

In an unknown area of the arctic, Nephrite was sitting at his desk. Above the desk was a star chart. As he watched the constellations move, he noticed something. The Lyra constellation was prime for use. He smiled and leaned back into his chair. Closing his eyes, he looked for a suitable host.

In his mind, he saw a young woman fuming at her failed movie audition. He grabbed the star's power and infused it into a ball of energy. The small orb was pinched in between his thumb and index finger. With a snap of his fingers, he teleported into Juuban.

Takako Kawaguchi was not a happy woman. In fact, she was downright furious. She wanted the main role of Nakano's upcoming movie, but she had lost to Minako Aino.

 _I worked hard for that role_ , she thought while gritting her teeth. She was in the same dancing class as Minako.

 _She has no sense of grace, is informal, and don't even know the most basic of manners. And yet she gets to have such a role?_ She stomped through the sidewalk, only stopping when a man cleared his throat. She looked at him.

The man was wearing an outfit that looked completely out of place - white clothing which seemed to signify importance. He had wavy brown hair that reached his back.

"What's gotten you so angry?" he asked nonchalantly.

"That's none of your business," she growled. She walked a few steps forwards.

He shrugged. "I suppose you're right. But then again, you'd be refusing help to get that role you want."

Takako stopped walking. Turning towards the man, she harrumphed. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I always get the roles that I want."

"Of course you do," the man replied in a neutral tone. Takako waiting for the man to mock her, but that never came. "Let's go to something else then: having that Aino girl pay."

Kawaguchi raised an eyebrow and turned back towards the route to her home. "And why would I stoop to something this low?"

"It's obvious that she cheated," the man responded. "After all, she can't be better than you. You can convince the producer to change his mind, that much is true. But what about less fortunate girls, those who do not have the fame and money that you do? Who will help them against the cheater?"

Takako raised an eyebrow. "So why don't you go help them instead? And why have me do it?"

The man stretched a bit. "Because Aino hasn't cheated against anybody else. It is much better to pull out a weed earlier than later. Besides, Aino can just claim jealously against any girl that is less known. You, on the other hand, can get the role with legitimate strategies and then attack her."

"And how do you suppose I do that?"

The man produced an orb and pinched it. It produced a small amount of light.

"I can give you some abilities to help you along the way," he smirked.

"Uh huh…. What's the catch?" Takako questioned.

"If you accept my proposal, the Sailor Senshi will come after you." At Takako's questioning look, he continued, "They believe that my powers are 'evil' and a 'threat to the world.' But that's a good thing for me. You see, the Sailor Senshi have been a thorn in my side. I help you and you can help me with your followers and intelligence."

"What type of powers?" she asked skeptically.

"When you record yourself, anyone who watches you will believe anything that you say."

Takako's skepticism turned into a small smile. "Is that so?"

The man nodded. "Yes, but it only works if people watch _and_ listen at the same time. So there will be some people who don't fully believe you. But that shouldn't be too big of a problem, right?"

"I guess I'll accept your offer," Takako said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Put out your hand," the man ordered.

Kawaguchi put out her hand palms up. The man released the orb and it dropped into the hand. It touched her skin and disappeared, as if dissolving as it touched her hand.

"What's your name anyways?" she asked.

"Nephrite."

"Nice doing business with you, Nephrite. I'm Takako Kawaguchi, future superstar of the world."

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

Minako woke up with a yawn as she smashed her alarm clock silent. She stretched and regretted staying up so late last night. Her friends and parents threw her a small congratulatory party.

She went through her daily morning routine and walked down the stairs. In the kitchen, her mother was putting down breakfast. There was a television screen off to a corner broadcasting the morning news.

Aino sat down at the table in the middle and waited for her mother to be finished with her tasks. It was considered impolite to begin eating without everyone already seated and ready.

"This morning in the film industry, the actors for 's upcoming movie, _A Pair of Scissors_ , has been announced," the newsman said. "Mr. Ren Nakahara will be playing the role of Ryo Katou, Ms. Minako Aino will be playing the role of Shinju Matsumoto, Ms. Yuko Itou will be playing the role of…."

Minako couldn't help but smile when her name was said on T.V.

 _Sooner or later, I'll become famous!_ she thought. _Then everyone will know my name!_

"Wow, so soon and your name is already being spread around," her father laughed.

When her mother sat down, the three began to eat.

The T.V. screen changed to an ad. On the screen was a woman.

"My name is Takako Kawaguchi," she said. "I'm sure all of you have heard about Minako Aino getting the role a main role in Mr. Nakano's upcoming movie. But, to my surprise, I have found out that she cheated!"

Minako coughed out some food that went down the wrong pipe.

"What?!" she yelled.

"Yes, it's true!" Takako continued. The screen switched to a clip of Minako stumbling during a dance class session. "How at how unrefined and ungraceful she is! Can someone like that truly be the star of a movie? No, I tell you! The only way that she got that role is by cheating! More evidence of her wrongdoing will be uncovered later. I, Takako Kawaguchi, will make sure she doesn't cheat her way into fame."

The 'ad' then showed a several websites leading to Takako's social media networks. Another ad began to play.

Minako was seething in her seat. Her mind was trying to process what just happened.

"What a rude girl," her mother commented.

"Eh," her father grunted. "Hasn't even been a day and already there's someone jealous." He shook his head. "I will never understand why people want to become famous."

Unknowingly, Minako's magic as Sailor Venus reached out to her parents and protected them. The dark magic infused into the video had no effect. Similarly, anyone near any of the Senshi while viewing the video remained unaffected.

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

At lunch time, Minako was ranting to her friends. Usagi, Makoto, and Ami sat under a tree, eating their bentos and the long-haired blonde paced back and forth.

"I can't believe that she would do such a thing!" Aino yelled. 'Her' referred to Takako, the girl responsible for Minako's fury. As if wasn't enough that Kawaguchi put up an ad calling her out, but people actually believed that Minako had cheated.

"Uh, Minako," Ami tried to get her attention.

"And why are people believing her over me?" the blonde stomped in frustration.

"Minako," Ami repeated.

"There's no evidence of me cheating at all! That stupid video only showed me tripping over a misplaced shoe!"

"Minako!" Makoto shouted.

"What?!"

The brown haired girl pointed towards Ami. "She's got something to say."

Mizuno cleared her throat. "We've got dark energy signatures all over Tokyo."

"What?" everyone said in surprise.

"And I can't locate the source as well."

"How can that be?" asked Usagi. "We haven't seen or heard about any youma attacks. Not even Luna and Artemis called us about this."

Ami breathed in. "I don't know how, but it can't be coming from a youma. It's too even and spread out. Besides, if there were any youma, Luna would've warned us by now."

"What can it be?" Makoto questioned.

"Not even the Mercury Computer knows. It's never been seen before."

"So, those Shitennou have gotten even more crafty, huh?" Minako bitterly asked.

The first of the generals they encountered was Jadeite. After a few losses, the general used more and more underhanded tactics. Sometimes, who was attacking the Senshi switched. Nephrite was the other one they encountered. The other two remained unknown for the time being.

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

After school, an announcement from Takako Kawaguchi came out in the form of a video.

"Tonight, at eight p.m., I will be doing a live Q&A for all of my fans! Ask me about anything! My life, my career, or even about how I realised that Minako Aino cheated on her audition! Remember, eight p.m. on my Facebook page! Takako Kawaguchi, over and out!" The girl did the V-sign with her fingers and the video ended.

Minako bitterly muttered profanities as she closed the Youtube app on her phone. As she was about to put the phone in her pocket, it rang. She was getting a call from Ayumu Nakano.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hello, Minako," the producer replied. "This is Ayumu Nakano."

"Oh, hey, Mister Nakano. Why are you calling me?"

"I'm calling because of Takako's evidence of you cheating in the auditions. In light of your crimes, I'm afraid I need to take the role of Shinju Matsumoto away from you."

"Wait, I can prove I'm innocent!" Minako cried.

"Maybe you can," Nakano responded without emotion. "But until then, you're fired." The call ended. Minako screamed as she pulled on her hair. Tears threatened to break as she walked home, her face showing defeat.

The door to the Aino house opened with a chime.

"Oh, Minako, how was your day?" her mother greeted. Ms. Aino face turned to shock as she saw her daughter. "What happened?"

Without a word, Minako embraced her mother and sobbed.

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

At eight o'clock on the dot, Takako's livestream went live. Thousands of viewers joined the event.

"Hello and welcome!" Kawaguchi shouted with joy. "I'm so happy all of you could make it here tonight. Now, let's start off this livestream with an important announcement! Producer Nakano has been shown the evidence of Minako Aino's wrongdoing. And he has graciously given the role of Shinju Matsumoto to me!"

The chat began to fill with words congratulating her. She smiled at the camera. "Thank all of you for your support."

 _Soon, I'll become the world's greatest superstar!_ She thought with glee.

 _Remember your part of the deal_ , Nephrite communicated with her via thoughts.

 _Of course I do,_ she mentally snorted.

 _Good, because they're going to be at your location any moment now._

 _Don't worry, I'm prepared._

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

Ami Mizuno was doing her math homework that wasn't due until two weeks later when her Mercury Computer beeped and flashed red. She opened the portable computer and her eyes widened in shock.

The magic signature was coming straight from a house. A house of a certain person….

She flipped the cover of the emergency communicator and called everyone.

"What is it?" Rei asked with annoyance in her tone. "This had better not be a false alarm."

"No," Ami shook her head. "The Mercury Computer found out the location of the dark energy signature. It's at the house of Takako Kawaguchi."

Minako, who was exhausted from crying, was suddenly wide awake. "What did you say?" she asked. "The energy signature is coming from Takako's house?"

The blue haired Senshi nodded. "Yes, it's definitely coming from her location."

"That… that… that bitch!" Minako roared. "I can't believe it! I knew there was something off about everyone believing her over me! Where is she?! I'm going to make her pay!"

Everyone sighed. While it was good thing that Minako wasn't sad anymore, this wasn't exactly better.

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

Takako spun around in her chair, talking to her loyal viewers from across the world.

 _I wonder when those Senshi will be here,_ she thought. _It's getting boring waiting for them._

Right as she finished that thought, the Sailor Senshi barged into her room unannounced and then announced themselves.

"We, the fighters of justice in sailor suits, will stop your evil broadcast!"

Takako turned her webcam to face the Senshi.

"Do you see this?" she said into the microphone. "These little girls just entered into my home without permission. Then, they have the audacity to talk about justice? And wearing those tacky outfits as well, tsk, tsk."

 _One, two, three, four, … five? Where are the others?_

Outside, the Outers were on the roof of Takako's house, waiting for any orders to intervene.

"There's nothing wrong with our outfits!" Venus declared.

"Oh, please," Kawaguchi scoffed. "Anyone can see how outdated your sense of fashion is. If you can't even beat the latest fashion trends, how can you hope to beat the Shitennou?"

"Why you-"

"Venus, you're getting off topic!" Mars chided. She turned to Takako. "Stop your evil broadcast now or we'll be forced to use force!"

Takako laughed. "Go ahead, destroy my room. But just so you know, I have cameras all over the place, inside _and_ outside the house. I've already got proof of you breaking and entering. Burning my room will just give me more stuff to use against you in my upcoming lawsuit."

"I, the Senshi of love and justice, won't allow it!" Sailor Moon declared.

Takako rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter what you allow or not. I have evidence of you breaking into my home without permission and can take you to court for it. And I _will_ take you to court for this. You didn't _just_ break into my home either, you also came into my room and _threatened_ me. I wonder what the police will say about this?"

"You're committing a crime right now!" Venus pointed at her. "Fooling people with your dark magic!"

"I didn't know that telling the truth was such a crime," Takako said and shrugged. "And besides, you don't have _any_ proof of it, none whatsoever."

"Well, nobody will believe you once we shut you down!" Moon shouted. "Mercury, do it!"

The blue haired Senshi nodded and used her Mercury Computer to shut everything down.

"Oh no, how horrible," Takako rolled her eyes.

"Moon Healing Escalation!" Sailor Moon used her spell. All over the world, people felt a small tingle. Not knowing what it was, they merely shrugged it off and went back to whatever they were doing.

Kawaguchi slowly clapped. "What a light show. Was that supposed to do anything?"

"Ha!" Venus said with a triumphant face. "You've got no more power anymore!"

"Sure, whatever you say," Kawaguchi shrugged. "You've won, yadda yadda. I'll still sue you for breaking and entering. Look forward to that lawsuit."

"As if!" Venus scoffed. "We'll win against anything you can throw at us."

And with that, the Senshi left Takako's room. Jupiter grumbled that she didn't get to fight.

The lone girl remaining in the room removed a SD card from the camera on her desk. She put the card into a USB adapter and plugged it into her computer. She muttered curses at the blue haired Senshi.

 _I swear, if she did anything to my computer…._

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

The next morning, Minako was waiting for Ayumu Nakano to call her and put her back into the movie. However, the call never came.

In the afternoon, Luna asked all of the Senshi to meet in the secret room under the arcade.

The nine Senshi walked towards the black and white cats.

"What's up, Luna?" Usagi asked.

"We've got some bad news," Luna replied. "Those videos of Takako are still affecting people."

"What?!" Minako screeched and the other Inners yelled in surprise.

"But how?" Usagi questioned. "I used my Moon Healing Escalation and everything! Everyone should've been back to normal!"

"They were turned back to normal when you used that spell," Artemis confirmed. "But then they got re-affected when they rewatched Takako's video. Dark spells put onto physical objects can only be gotten rid of by destroying said physical object. But this dark spell is put onto multiple videos. And any copy of the video has the spell attached to it; the spell is part of the code."

"So we can't get rid of every copy?" Ami asked.

Artemis shook his head. "It's nearly impossible to completely get rid of every copy out there, especially since Takako told her fans to make download her videos just in case hers gets taken down."

"Ugh!" Makoto yelled. "Why can't our enemies just be people we can beat up?"

"In any case, Takako doesn't have any more powers," Luna said "The danger of the Lyra constellation has passed, so we've got time to figure this out. It'll be some time before Nephrite can use any more constellations."

"How much time will it take?" Minako asked.

"We don't know," Luna replied. "This is the first time we've encountered something like this."

Minako's expression became downfallen.

"Don't worry, Minako," Artemis tried to cheer her up. "We'll figure this out and before you know it, you'll have your role back."

The guardian of love smiled. "Thank you, Artemis."

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

The Shitennou and Beryl sat around a small circular table.

"It'll be a while the Sailor Senshi can figure this one out," Nephrite smirked. "Even without any powers, Takako is able to rile people up for her cause. Once the time is right, we can use her to convince people to donate their energies to us."

"Jadeite, what about you?" Beryl questioned.

"Even if Nephrite has temporarily distracted the Inners, the Outers remain a huge threat," Jadeite replied. "Any large energy gathering operations are too big of a risk with those powerhouses around."

"And we don't have enough resources to fight them," Zoisite added.

Beryl nodded. "Jadeite, continue to do what you're doing. Sooner or later, they'll let their guard down. When that happens, we'll strike."

"Of course, my queen."

* * *

AN: Inspired by "Get on Screen" by De Staat.


	2. Get it Together

Get it Together

* * *

Members of the Shitennou

General of the Far East, Jadeite: 18 years old  
Hair Color: Blonde  
Eye Color: Gray

General of Europe, Zoisite: 17 years old  
Hair Color: Blonde  
Eye Color: Green

General of North America, Nephrite: 21 years old  
Hair Color: Maroon  
Eye Color: Dark Blue

General of the Middle East, Kunzite: 25 years old  
Hair Color: White  
Eye Color: Brown

* * *

Primary Objective: Find and retrieve the Silver Crystal  
Secondary Objective: Kill the Sailor Senshi

* * *

In an undisclosed location under the arctic, Queen Beryl sat with her four generals.

Jadeite spoke, "Miss Kawaguchi ran by me a most interesting plan the other day; she's come up with the idea of selling our energy drain as a weight loss solution."

Beryl raised an eyebrow. "Explain."

The Eastern General cleared his throat. "According to her, there are many across the Americas that have become overweight. And said people want to lose weight without doing any work. Our energy drain will be a solution to their problems."

"What are the details?" Kunzite asked.

"All of the legal matters, such as creating a company and whatnot, will be handled by Miss Kawaguchi. All we need to worry about is production."

Jadeite snapped his fingers and five pieces of paper appeared on the table. The papers automatically flew towards each person.

Drawn on the papers was a mockup of the design of a bracelet in black and white: pieces of wood tied together with a string. On the bracelet was a small dial. The numbers on the dial were from zero to five hundred, in multiples of one hundred. In between one number and the next were five bolded lines.

"We decided to go with a bracelet because it is both cheap and fashionable," Jadeite explained. "The numbers on the dial is the number of calories that will be 'burned' each day by our energy drain."

"Why have the dial?" Zoisite questioned. "They don't need to know how much energy they're losing."

"Well, Takako says that they do because they need to count calories or something like that. _However_ , the dial will give us something that we need: the trust of the people."

Zoisite raised an eyebrow.

Jadeite explained further, "People like to be in control and are afraid of things outside of their control. If we just produce something with an energy drain and call it a weight loss solution, why should they trust us? They would have absolutely no reason to trust us. And if they don't trust us, then it wouldn't sell, making this entire thing a waste of time.

"With the dial, they can decide on how much they want to be drained and adjust it. All control is in their hands. Now, people may be skeptical at first, but once they see nothing bad happening to the people who are testing it, they'll become curious. And then they'll buy it and test it out. Then, they will see nothing bad happening to them and introduce it to their friends and coworkers and family members. And the cycle goes on and on. Therefore, the dial is necessary to sell this product."

"But why go through all this trouble?" Nephrite inquired. "Why not just brainwash them?"

"If we brainwash people, then the Sailor Senshi will have a good reason to attack us. But, if people _willingly_ give us their energy, then the Senshi have no good reasons to attack us."

"They will lack legitimacy," Kunzite added. "Those who act without legitimacy are without reason. And those without reason and doomed to fail."

" _Precisely!"_ Jadeite agreed. "After all, we're just normal civilians who want to share an amazing weight loss solution to the people of the world! We've done nothing wrong that we deserve to die for."

The Eastern General hunched forward and said in a low whisper with a smirk, "And if we can get the Sailor Senshi to attack our civilian forms on camera…."

Everyone understood the unspoken words and nodded slowly.

"While I think that's a good plan, we should focus foremost on the draining part," Nephrite commented. "Remember, we don't have enough resources just yet."

"Of course," Jadeite laughed. "But once we are ready, it shall be a glorious day for us!"

Everyone nodded. One day, they would be ready to strike back against the Senshi. Until then, they would wait patiently with anticipation, creating youma designs and clever schemes. Once that day came, the Senshi would regret even being on the same planet as the Shitennou!

"I think I've heard enough," Beryl said. "Jadeite, you will begin this operation as soon as possible. Our resources will be diverted to you."

"Of course, my queen." The general bowed slightly. "I have nothing else to report."

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

On social media, an announcement was made by Takako.

"Hello, everyone!" she said cheerfully. "Today, I have a very special announcement for you all! I'm teaming up with the Mineral Brothers, a new startup company focused on weight loss programs! On Tuesday, they will be unveiling their first product! If you're interested in knowing what we're doing, come over to the Satou Theater at three p.m. Snacks and drinks will be available. You can bring your friends and family, all are welcome free of charge! Remember, Satou Theater at three p.m. on Tuesday. See you there!"

The video ended.

"She _has_ to be up to something," Minako muttered. She, along with the rest of the Senshi, were inside their secret headquarters of sorts under the arcade.

The Senshi of love was still mad at Takako. After the incident a few weeks ago, Takako kept her role as the main female lead. Minako was put on as a secondary character. Furthermore, Kawaguchi kept her promise of suing the Senshi for breaking and entering without permission. If that wasn't bad enough, she used the lawsuit as a chance to create a smear campaign on the Sailor Scouts. The lawsuit ended with the Senshi having to pay money for repairs, which wasn't too bad, but their reputation had been dragged through the mud.

"I've done some research about the Mineral Brothers," Luna informed. "The company is owned by Takako and claims to be focused on weight loss programs. They even have a webpage up explaining how their energy drain works to help people lose weight."

"That's horrible!" Usagi exclaimed. "Taking advantage of people like that!"

"I can't believe Takako is helping them," Minako grumbled. "Doesn't she care about the lives of others?"

"Anyways," Luna said. "We need to get back on track and come up with a plan."

Haruka snorted. "Why do we need a plan? We can just blow them up at any time."

"Have you forgotten what people think of us right now?"

"Who cares what they think?!" Uranus replied with a snarl. "They'll be grateful once they learn that we saved them from the Shitennou."

"It's not just that, it's the fact that the police might come after us," Artemis explained. "And being known as murderers won't help our case."

"Why would the police come after us?," Usagi asked with a confused look.

"Don't you get it?" Rei asked. "Right now, everyone thinks we're nothing but a bunch of vigilantes. And bad ones at that."

"But… but..." Usagi tried to protest. "But we're trying to help them!"

"It doesn't matter," countered Luna. "However, that's beside the point, we need to come up with a plan!"

"What can we do but observe?" Ami asked.

"Nothing much," Artemis muttered. He sighed and looked at each of the girls. Ami would be helpful with her computer and knowledge. Minako was still angry at Takako, which made her a liability. Usagi… maybe? Rei, Makoto, and Uranus might not be able to control their tempers. Michiru and Setsuna had the social graces, but might too old to be in Takako's fanbase. Plus, those two were part of the Outer Senshi, and not exactly known for trigger discipline.

 _Some stealth training might be in order_ , Artemis thought.

"Ami will go to the event to observe," the white lunar cat spoke. "Everyone else will be on standby to intervene if necessary. Does anyone disagree?"

"She shouldn't go alone," Makoto argued. "Her fighting skills aren't good enough to go up against _any_ of the Shitennou, even if it's just Jadeite."

"I doubt Jadeite would want to fight," Artemis replied. "Especially with so many people around. In fact, I'd say he wants _us_ to attack first."

Makoto pursed her lips.

"If you're so worried, then let me come along," Setsuna said. "After all, as the head of my enterprise, I need to keep a lookout for promising investments."

"Anyone else have anything say?" Luna asked. The room remained silent. "All right then. Ami, Setsuna, good luck."

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

At the Satou Theater, a crowd gathered around the stage, about two hundred people, the majority being girls. Some of the boys were excited at the chance to see Takako at a live event without having to pay. Some were there because their girlfriends dragged them along. Among the crowd were Ami and Setsuna. The blue haired Senshi was dressed in her school uniform while Setsuna was wearing her usual business attire: a purple button up with a white shirt underneath, a black tight skirt, and black low heels.

At three o'clock sharp, three people entered the stage. Two of the three were instantly recognizable by the Senshi - Jadeite and Takako. The other person was an older woman.

The unknown woman spoke, "Hello, everyone. I'm sure all of you are excited for Takako's big reveal of her new weight loss secret. However, we need to set some rules first. Number one, please turn off your cellphones or put them on silent. If your cellphone goes off then, I'm afraid we'll have to kick you out. Number two is an extension of number one - please be quiet. If you make too much noise, then we will have to kick you out. And finally, please enjoy yourselves. Now, without further ado, please welcome Miss Takako Kawaguchi and her new business partner, Mister Jadeite!"

The crowd cheered and applauded as Takako walked up to the microphone, waving at the audience. Jadeite walked slower and behind the girl with his hands behind his back.

"Welcome, everyone!" Takako yelled. The cheering and applause became louder. After a few moments, the last clapping sound was heard.

The star cleared her throat. "Now, I'm sure you're all wondering what the surprise is, right?" Her question was answered with nods and murmurs. "So, let's not wait any longer! Mister Jadeite, please come up and tell everyone about your invention."

The blonde general walked up to the microphone and spoke. "Hello, everyone. My name, as Miss Kawaguchi said, is Jadeite." The lights of the theater began to dim and a projector turned on. The image on the screen behind Jadeite was on a bracelet with a dial.

"For many decades now, people have tried to find quick and easy ways to lose weight fast. Unfortunately, many of them have unhealthy side effects. Pills, surgery, fasting, all those methods may help you to lose weight, but the consequences of the body are just not worth it. It seems that having a quick and easy method to lose weight is not without heavy consequences - until now, that is.

"What you are seeing behind me is not just a simple bracelet. It is a bracelet that helps your body to burn more calories each day. For safety measures, we have put the maximum value to five hundred, which means that your body will burn an extra three hundred calories just by doing nothing. All you have to do is set the dial to the corresponding number and it'll work like magic."

"That sounds too good to be true!" a girl yelled.

"It does, doesn't it?" Jadeite nodded. "Which is why I've partnered up with Miss Kawaguchi to give all of you free test runs. Everyone here will get a free bracelet that they can keep forever."

"You said that there were no unhealthy side effects," Ami spoke up. "Why is that?"

"Good question, Miss…?"

"Mizuno."

"Good question, Miss Mizuno. The way the bracelet works is that is pushes the body's metabolism to burn your energy quicker, but not too much. It is as naturally as going to the gym to burn calories. Essentially, it is like working out, but without the work."

"Can you target it to burn fat in certain locations?" another woman asked.

"Could you repeat that question, Miss...?"

"Sato," the woman answered. "I wanted to know if your bracelet can target certain areas of the body to burn fat at, like at the waist."

"Unfortunately, Miss Sato it cannot. As of now, the bracelet can only tell your body to burn more calories." Sato's face went down a bit. "But, that is an excellent idea. Once we're done with this test run we might add that feature in future models."

"How can the bracelet tell our body to burn more calories?" Ami asked.

"I cannot answer that question. I'm not a scientist, nor can I claim to be one. However, I do believe one of our scientists will soon release a paper about the matter.

"Now, if there are no more questions, let us move on…."

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

Ami and Setsuna walked back to the Senshi's headquarters. Towards the end, nothing of interest happened. Two hundred people went to the event, and two hundred bracelets were given out. Setsuna talked to Takako about the possibility of being a stakeholder in the company, but was ultimately refused.

The rest of the Senshi had gone home to rest and do homework.

"Oh, you're back," Artemis said as he turned his head. He leaped down from his seat and walked towards a table. On the table was a machine. The bottom part of the machine was rectangular, about a foot wide, eight inches long, and three inches tall. Supported by columns, the top of the machine about five inches above the bottom part; it had the same width and length, but was only one centimeter tall.

There were multiple buttons on the machine. A few were labeled: "Examine," "Test," "Deep Test," "Shallow Test," "Deep Examine," and "Shallow Examine." There were other options, such as time constraints or energy constraints.

"Put the bracelets on the machine," the white cat said.

Once the items were put on the machine, Artemis pressed a couple of buttons. The machine whirred and green lasers shot down from the machine's ceiling, moving across the bracelets.

"The examination might take a while. So, did you notice anything suspicious?"

"You mean besides the entire thing?" Setsuna replied with a smirk.

Artemis rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Supposedly, their energy draining works by telling the body to burn more calories," Ami answered.

"Hmm hmm," the white cat murmured. "Anything else?"

"Nothing much, they ignored all the questions about the specifics."

"Okay then. The both of you can head home if you want to. I'll let everyone know about the results of the tests tomorrow."

And with that, nobody except a white cat was inside the arcade.

After the tests were done, Artemis stared at the test results.

 _It does do everything it says it does_ , he thought. _Even the dial works!_ He certainly had not expected that.

 _But the problem is that the drained energy is sent to their headquarters immediately._ He tapped his paw against the computer.

 _We can't destroy all the bracelets, so what can we do?_ The cat sighed and rubbed his head. The Shitennou were a headache to deal with, in more ways than one.

 _Let's see, most energy drains so far can be reversed by destroying the drainer, which returns the energy back to its owner. Back to…._

Artemis's eyes shot wide open and began to type up plans on the computer. In the morning, Luna would find the white cat asleep on the computer. Miraculously, no part of his body was touching the keyboard.

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

One week later, the Shitennou and Beryl met up.

"We have a complication," Jadeite announced with a scowl on his face. "The Senshi have managed to find a way to redirect the energies back to their owner."

"What?" Beryl asked with a raised voice.

"Precisely my reaction. When the bracelet drains the energy, the energy is pulled towards… something and is redirected back to the owner. This not only ruins our energy gathering, but the reputation of the 'weight loss program' as well."

Nephrite grunted. "It seems that our foes have become much more formidable over the past centuries."

Zoisite replied, "It does not matter how formidable they have become. It only means that we must be even more formidable."

"Jadeite, do you know where this 'redirector' is?" Kunzite asked.

"I only know of the general location," the Asian general answered. He summoned a picture in his hands and gave it to the eldest Tennou.

The white-haired general looked at the photo. On it was an aerial picture of a city block. Six of the twelve buildings were circled together.

"I've managed to narrow it down to those six buildings," Jadeite continued. "It's hard because of the energy streams crossing with one another. The worst part is that they don't meet at a single place, they just touch the ground and are directed back to the owner."

"How much energy did you obtain?" the eldest asked.

Jadeite looked at Beryl, who nodded.

"We have enough to create a decent youma, if the queen would be so gracious as to lend it for our use," the youngest answered.

"I, by my grace, will allow temporary usage of the energy reserves for this purpose," their queen declared.

"Then, may I ask, by your grace, to be the one who hunts down this redirector?" Kunzite asked. "That way, my brothers can focus on the important task of gathering more energy."

"I have an even better plan," Nephrite injected himself into the conversation. "If the three of us commit to energy operations _at the same time_ as Kunzite's actions, we can sow confusion among the Senshi."

"Won't the redirector just give the energy back?" Beryl asked.

"Not if we store the energies as soon as they are drained and then bring it back here," Zoisite replied. "However, it does limit our options quite considerably."

Jadeite replied with a small frown, "That may be so, but I don't think we have the resources so that large of an operation."

"Ah, I think you have mistaken my words. What I meant is just to have a little something here and there to throw the Senshi off guard," Nephrite explained.

"Humph, if it's just distracting them, then our mere presence is more than enough," Jadeite declared. "You should see how they scramble like mice each time I pop up. We won't even need to drain anyone to scare them senseless."

When Jadeite used a portal to go to Tokyo, he noticed that certain people would attempt to tail him. Well, not exactly 'people.' The ones that followed him around were cats, cats with the lunar royal symbol on their foreheads. It doesn't take a genius to realize who they were working for. Sometimes, he would mess with them by walking around in circles or by doing nothing except sitting on a bench in the middle of a park. A favorite trick of his was walking into an alleyway and disappearing. It was always fun to see the frustrated looks on their faces.

The maroon-haired general chuckled. "Maybe. But why not get energy while scaring them? Kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes."

"While I'm sure we can talk about this further, I need to tend to Metalia soon," their queen said. "Is there anything else to discuss?"

"None, my queen," Jadeite replied. The other three spoke the same answer.

"Then I shall take my leave. Come up with a plan and report to me once you are done." Beryl stood up and walked away.

While she was doing that, the Shitennou bowed their heads and said, "Of course, your majesty. By your grace, we shall have victory."

Once Beryl's footsteps were barely heard, the Shitennou stood up and stretched. Even as immortal and dark beings, one thing remained the same: sitting in a chair for too long was bad for one's back.

Nephrite looked at Kunzite and spoke, "Kunzite, if I may bother you for a few moments, I wish to discuss something with you."

The eldest raised an eyebrow and the American general smirked.

"I do believe I have the _perfect_ youma for this job."

* * *

A/N: The ending is always the hardest part to come up with.

* * *

Going forward, the Shitennou will be using youma for their operations. Each youma has six attributes attached: Intelligence, Strength, Defense, Agility, Health, and Stealth. All youma are autonomous.

Intelligence is a metric of how fast the youma can think. A youma's intelligence is more akin to a computer's processing power than human intelligence.

Strength is a measure of physical power.

Defense is a metric for the theoretical maximum damage the youma's armor can take. Deflection and damage blocking are accounted for.

Agility is a metric for how fast the youma can relocate.

Health is a metric for how many shots a youma can take to its flesh before it goes down.

Stealth is a metric for how hard it is to locate the youma.

Special abilities and equipment attributed to the youma are accounted for all metrics.

* * *

Ranking of the metrics:  
S - The Best  
A - Excellent  
B - Good  
C - Average  
D - Poor  
F - Not worth mentioning

* * *

Example of a youma:

Basic Youma - created for mundane tasks such as housecleaning, etc.  
INT: C  
STR: F  
DEF: D  
AGI: D  
HP: C  
STL: D


End file.
